This project  is part of Usalama’s policy and advocacy work and aims at providing a platform for public participation in measuring quality, accountability and satisfaction of service delivery by the police, as well as tracking the Police Reforms progress.

To achieve this, the project includes the following activities:

1. Police accountability and Service Delivery
2. Tracking police reform implementation, monitoring police recruitment and organizing the Police Station Visitation Week
3. Improving Planning and Budgeting practices and the Model Police Station project
4. Review of the Service standing Orders

This activity is part of Usalama’s policy and advocacy work currently being implemented by policing and security services project, aimed at providing a platform for public participation in measuring quality and satisfaction of service delivery by the police.  To realize this objective, Usalama in partnership with the National Police Service have developed an interaction form used by the public to record experiences with the police. A service delivery team comprising of five people has been constituted in each community to deliver this task. In addition IEC materials such as booklets, brochures and posters, containing specific messages on accountability, have been developed and shared with community groups, partners and stakeholders to strengthen the initiative. The main output of this activity is producing service delivery score cards on a quarterly basis, to measure quality and satisfaction of policing services and targets as spelt out in the police service charter.

As part of the large mandate of institutionalizing comprehensive police reforms, in 2010 Usalama was engaged in the process of drafting three key legislation meant to reform the police namely; the National Police Service Act, the National Police Service Commission Act and the Independent Police Civilian Oversight Authority Act. Some of the most significant achievements of Usalama in reform implementation include; monitoring the Police Recruitment exercise in April 2001 and November 2012. Usalama also shared experiences with the NPSC on best standards applicable on recruitment of police officers aimed at attracting recruits with qualities of serving the service better. In addition, Usalama made contributions to the development of a vetting tool to be used by the NPSC during the vetting process of serving police officers, to determine their suitability to continue serving. This process is aimed at achieving professionalism and accountability within the Police service as provided for in the NPS Act, 2011.  

In June 2012, Usalama produced a Progress Monitoring Report on the status of police reforms in Kenya. Furthermore, as part of the Altus Global Annual Event, Usalama has successfully organized Community Police Station Visitation Week for three consecutive years (2010, 2011 & 2012). For the first time, Usalama is hosting the Altus Conference and Global Award Ceremony in August 2013 in Nairobi, with representatives from different continents. Currently, the project is focusing on producing recommendations for case management system to support complaints handling of Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) within the NPS.

As part of the critical reforms within the police service, the NPS Act 2011 provides for the recognition of police station as the centre of service delivery and unit of administration and gives the office of the Inspector General of Police service a mandate to prepare plans and budgets for all police stations. Currently, the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) holds the budget for all police stations in the Division. In cases where two stations are miles apart, this results into delays and long procedure of disbursement of funds and missed priorities thereby compromising service delivery.  Usalama is now piloting a Model Police Station project in Voi Police station in Taita Taveta County, in partnership with Chemonics (a USAID Grant agency) and the office of the IGP, to create better planning and budgeting practices. The budgeting process will build capacity of police stations and the community to produce plans and budgets depicting specific area needs and community priorities. If this initiative is successful, it will be replicated in other police stations across the country.

The NPS Act provides that the Inspector General of Police, upon assumption of office within one year, shall issue new Service Standing Orders (SSO) to replace the Force Standing Orders currently used by the police service. The orders contain rules and regulations and standard operating procedures that guide the day to day management and the work of the police. To ensure that the SSO are reviewed in light of the Constitution and the wishes of the community, Usalama is providing technical assistance to the committee appointed by the IGP to produce a set of new Service Standing Orders.

To date, the committee has produced an initial draft for the SSO based on an Usalama gap analysis report (comparing what existed before with what has been provided for in the new legislation).  The SSO draft will first be discussed within the police service and stakeholders from civil society organizations, then adopted and forwarded to the office of the Attorney General for technical input and finally sent to the Inspector General of the Police, who will issue new Service Standing Orders. Once issued, the new SSO will tremendously change the way police operates by giving priority to service delivery and professionalism in the conduct of police officers.